The first international flight carrying 180 passengers landed at the Da Nang International Airport on the first day of the Lunar New Year (February 5), the Vietnam News Agency reports.

The guests came to the central city on a VietJet Air flight coded VJ881 from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.

Upon their arrival, they were treated to an enticing welcome ceremony with flower bouquets, gifts, lucky money, art performances, an introduction to Vietnam’s traditions to mark the beginning of a lunar year, and a lucky draw.

According to the municipal Tourism Department, as of December 2018, there were 23 direct international routes to Da Nang, with more than 328 flights per week. The central hub hosted some 2.35 million visitors by air last year, up 48.7 per cent from 2017.

Also in 2018, the Da Nang International Airport served 80,745 commercial flights and 13.2 million passengers, representing respective annual increases of 17.2 and 22.5 per cent. It set a target of pushing the figures to 87,853 flights and over 14.8 million passengers this year.